Creativity, unlocked

If saving Tom Hanks is not enough motivation to develop a vaccine, we are all doomed.” This was one of the many memes that popped up on social media after the actor and his wife, Rita Wilson, tested positive for Covid-19 almost a month ago. They were, perhaps, the first celebrity couple to catch the infection. But they remained calm and shared video messages of precautions to take while in quarantine. The couple, now recovered, is back to doing what they do best—entertain.

From the confines of her room, Wilson grooved and laughed while recording a remix of the hip-hop trio Naughty By Nature’s Hip Hip Hooray, the proceeds from which will go to the Covid-19 relief fund. Hanks, meanwhile, turned host (for the 10th time) on Saturday Night Live, a first from home via Zoom, as multiple guests joined in from their homes. And, he was on a roll. Calling himself “the celebrity canary in the coal mine for the coronavirus”, he joked: “Ever since being diagnosed, I have been more like America's dad than ever before, since no one wants to be around me very long and I make people uncomfortable.”

But Hanks is not the only celebrity to let his guard down and give a peek into his personal space—his kitchen this time. In an Instagram video, Justin Bieber took up his wife’s ‘floor is lava’ challenge. He hopped from one couch to another, stepping on chairs and skateboarding to reach his bedroom, only to fall and fail the challenge barely a few inches from his bed. Reese Witherspoon, meanwhile, has been baring her soul online, addressing the challenges she is facing amid the lockdown

At a time when almost everyone is boxed in, artistes, especially of the celebrity kind, are in a quandary like never before. They are used to juggling schedules, managing meetings and in between posing for photos and selfies at airports and gyms, but with shoots halted and auditoriums and theatres shut, they have found themselves with a void that is difficult to fill. But they are opening up bits and pieces of their lives for their followers online. 

In India, it began with Bollywood celebrities making “how to wash your hands” and “what to do, what not to do” videos. There has been some amusing stuff, too. Like the video of Salman Khan having breakfast with his horse at his Alibag farmhouse, where he ends up eating the grass he is feeding his pet. Vicky Kaushal has mastered the art of turning an omelette, while his supposed girlfriend Katrina Kaif has made some progress with making pancakes.

But gloom is in the air, too. In the first week of the lockdown, actor Richa Chadha, who is living with her brother, would get all anxious—the first thing she would do after waking up was check the death toll. But now she has taken up meditation. “At times like these, where unprecedented events are happening all around us, we tend to get stressed. Meditation definitely helps, regardless of the pandemic,” she said. For someone who started by watching films like Contagion and shows like Pandemic, Richa has now switched to “happier stuff”. She has also been taking tribal fusion dance classes online, reading a lot of books and is even planning to develop scripts to make better use of her time at home.

Her wedding with actor Ali Fazal, which was reportedly slated for April end, has been postponed. While they are cooped up in separate houses, there is a synchronicity between the two. Fazal, too, has taken up meditation. He said it helped him in this tough, trying and interesting time. “I think it is also heartening to see so much positivity coming from at least the crowd that is self-isolating,” he says. “It has been a time of introspection, too. I am doing every little household chore, from cleaning to cooking. It is like my boarding school days have come back into play and things are easy and doable now.” With a sense of achievement, he informs that he has finished watching almost everything on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and has read books that include Malice by Keigo Higashino, Uta Hagen’s Respect For Acting, The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman. His current read is Poetry of Belonging: Muslim Imaginings of India 1850-1950 by Ali Khan Mahmudabad.

Meanwhile, actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, even while locked up in their Mumbai home, are giving major couple goals. Almost on a daily basis, they share things they do for each other or with each other on Instagram. Padukone has started an Instagram series—Productivity In The Time of Covid-19!—chronicling the things she has been doing at home, from her self-care routine and diet to her exercise regimen and household chores like cooking and labelling kitchen commodities. “I always find something to do, even in the busiest times or even in a time like this to keep my mind engaged,” she said in a note by her publicist. 

A self-claimed ‘Indian Marie Kondo’, Padukone said that she had always been proud of her home maintenance. But the pressure cooker scares here, she confessed. Perhaps that is why she has kept away from Indian cooking. But she is determined to try her hand at it during this lockdown. 

Even as celebrities try to find a sense of accomplishment in doing household chores and staying fit, they have also been criticised for being tone-deaf when the world is going through a crisis. But maintaining a routine in such times is as important as being aware of the situation.

Perhaps that is one reason why Alaya Furniturewala, who made a promising debut with Jawaani Jaaneman this January, is making sure not to laze around in her pyjamas. “I get up like I would do on a normal day, shower, wear fresh clothes and keep myself occupied throughout the day by creating content for my Instagram, drawing, and even cooking a little,” said Furniturewala, who finds her calm on the canvas. Also, the lockdown has helped her spend some quality time with her family, which she was not able to do in the past few months, with her mother, actor Pooja Bedi, staying in Goa and brother, Omar, in the US. “I am just glad that I am here with my family safe and sound,” said Furniturewala. 

Her contemporary Ananya Pandey is using this time to do everything that she has been missing out on earlier. “I am baking cookies with my sister, spending time with my dog and also catching up on movies that I could not see in recent times,” she said. She has also got back to reading and working out. “Since my friends and I cannot meet we have decided to work out via video calling,” said Pandey. She has even signed up on QuizUp, an app that is helping her “learn so many fun facts and keep up with general knowledge”. 

There are some, though, who are yet to embrace the digital medium, like veteran actor-musician Raghubir Yadav. He is, however, not averse to the medium, saying if the lockdown stretches to a longer period, he will consider doing a live music session. But for now, Yadav is digging deep into his memories of working in the Parsi theatre two decades ago to write a book. He is also spending a lot of time in his workshop, giving finishing touches to musical instruments like flutes and rababs that he has made from scratch. While shooting in foreign locales, he would go looking for instruments that would make a suitable addition to his workshop at his Mumbai home. “I have hundreds of them now,” he said, laughing. And now seems to be a good time to use them, he added.

Actor-singer Namit Das is not really kicked about the idea of being productive in this period. “The moment you try to set yourself up for productivity, the truth is that you are going to fall short,” he said. “This is an unusual situation. Human beings are dealing with a lot in the world outside.” But he agrees with Yadav’s thought of making the best use of resources one has. Last December, Das bought a turntable and started collecting LPs even as his parents wondered when he would find the time to listen to them. “I did not know that I was setting up for the lockdown. But every day now, I have been listening to one LP,” he says. Das has also been sharing videos of the records he plays on Instagram, with a footnote and trivia about every album. From Vilayat Khan, Prabha Atre, Jagjit and Chitra to Amy Winehouse and Miles Davis, Das’s collection is comprehensive.

But in the cosy confines of their high-rises, there is much to worry about, too. Author-filmmaker Tahira Kashyap Khurrana has taken to Instagram to tell fictional stories related to coronavirus. The stories, emotional and stimulating, reveal the daily challenges of common people during lockdown. “I thought why not have a series where the commonality is the lockdown,” she said, even as she works on her fourth book, The 12 Commandments Of Being A Woman. “I just wanted to share stories that each one of us would be living at some point or the other. The situations are very relatable, the characters, too.”

She has been having serious conversations with her husband, actor Ayushmann Khurrana, about the dwindling economy and its eventual impact on various art forms. But they have found reassurance in the fact that everything will settle down. “And I think art is… a potential form of happiness for everyone and we are very fortunate to be artistes because this way I feel we have the inherent responsibility of spreading happiness around us and we can do that,” she said.

In a webinar recently organised by media measurement company ComScore, there was agreement among the participating heads of all multiplex chains in India and global analysts that convincing the audience to go to a theatre would be the most challenging thing post lockdown. They estimate the current loss for just Bollywood to be more than 0400 crore a week. According to data shared by Event and Entertainment Management Association that has taken into account the various cultural and sports live shows into account, the loss so far amounts to Rs40,000 crore. No doubt, it is a worrisome situation, and plans are being reassessed and restructured.

“We are living in a consumerist world and in the world of capitalism,” said Fazal, who even between all his book readings and household chores was digitally promoting a Vishal Mishra song that he starred in. “You have to eventually bring what you have created to the people, the rightful audience of this little piece of work. Also, if somebody somewhere can break bread and earn their living [by changing the plans of promotions], why not? It works.”

It is no surprise then that it is not just shows like Saturday Night Live, music concerts and standup acts that have moved to the digital space. In between playing his LPs and doing live sessions for his fans on Instagram, Das is trying out various apps to dub for his next show, Arya, which will stream on Hotstar soon. “I don’t think theatres are going to open that easily,” he said. “It is going to take its time. People are not going to visit enclosed spaces for some time because there will be a fear of the infection spreading. And that is going to be directly related to our profession. Art is going to adapt itself to this new situation.”

According to actor Sharib Hashmi, people have already started innovating and experimenting with ideas and themes. He certainly has. It was while promoting his show, Asur, on Voot, that the lockdown came into effect. But that did not slow him down. He is now busy acting in A Viral Wedding, “India’s first micro series”. Conceived and created by his costar from The Family Man, Shreya Dhanwanthary, the series was put together after long meetings over video calls. “She discussed the idea with us a few days into the lockdown, and we all thought that this is the time to innovate,” said Hashmi, who shot his segments on the phone, sometimes with multiple takes, with help from his teenaged son.

Dhanwanthary, said Hashmi, is now talking to streaming services to find an apt platform for The Viral Wedding. He, on the other hand, is discussing a possible script for a short film that will be shot from home. “It is going to be the new normal,” he said, with a word of caution that while this is happening, everyone is trying their best to keep the quality of the content intact. “Since it will become a global phenomenon, one has to think through everything that is put out there. Compromised quality only means a failure of the effort.”